BB XIII Anniversary Festival & Comp

Come and celebrate our thirteenth birthday with us!

Click to book now!

Details

Our big annual birthday party is back for 2026, and this time we're celebrating being THIRTEEN years old! Teenagers at last! 😁

After the success of our all-weekend festival the last few years, we're going to run things very similarly this time round. Once again we'll be running an Open Comp as well as setting a circuit of fun festival boulders for those that don't want to enter a competition but still want to get involved.

The biggest change for this year is that we will be running a separate Youth Finals the following weekend rather than on the same night as the Open Finals, so that strong youth will be eligible for both finals (if their scores are good enough). This will also open up a few more bookable climbing sessions on Sunday afternoon as this was a popular slot.

Expect another spectacular Showcase Finals for the Open Comp to round the weekend off in style, as well as our usual mix of DJs, prize giveaways, tasty food and more. With boulders set by the BB Team and guest setters including Jake Mason, Zoe Wood & Dipika Hopkins , it’s going to be another good one!

Do I still need to book if I'm a member?

For this special weekend event all sessions need to be pre-booked. Monthly members get a 50% reduction in ticket price, and this still includes a free event t-shirt .

Timetable

• Friday 8th May - centre CLOSED for routesetting during the day
• Friday 8th May - bookable slots available from 6pm!
• Saturday 9th May - bookable slots available all day
• Sunday 10th May - bookable slots available in the morning and afternoon
• Sunday 10th May - Showcase Finals from the Open Comp in the evening from 7pm (Youth Finals will happen the following week)
• Monday 11th May - centre re-opens as normal from 8am

Adults can book into either the Adult/Youth Sessions (earlier in the day) or Adult Sessions (later in the day). Youth climbers should book into one of the Adult/Youth Sessions. See the booking widgets for available timeslots.

Festival boulders

As well as a tour of Competition boulders, we'll be setting a range of fun festival boulders for everyone to try. So even if you're not keen on entering a competition, there will still be lots of fun stuff to do! These will be set at a broad range of grades, with something available for most skill levels. As we are stripping a lot of our regular boulders to make space for these special boulders, there will be a lower number of really easy climbs up than there would be usually, so it's probably not ideal for someone's first ever climb, but if you've been at least a couple of times before you should have plenty of fun.

Comp Prizes

Those entering the Open competitions will battle it out for a tasty cash prize pot , with £150 on offer for the winner of the Men's and Women's Open events and cash prizes for the top three finishers. There will also be great prizes from our sponsors up for grabs in the Youth Comp and for other top finishers in the Masters and Gender Inclusive categories.

Free t-shirts and giveaways!

Every participant gets during the weekend gets a free BB t-shirt included in their ticket price, and there will be giveaways for spectators during the Showcase Finals as well as prizes issued at random from the full list of competition entries.

Showcase Finals

The Finals event is the culmination of the annual Comp and is always a highlight of the year, as the top competitors from the Open Competitions battle it out to win the top prize on some specially crafted finals boulders on our Comp Wall in front of a big crowd. The Finals will be a ticketed event to help us manage numbers safely (it’s always really popular!), with pre-booking costing a small amount which will be 100% donated to charity. There will also be a licensed bar so you can enjoy a drink while you watch.

We will again be running a Showcase Finals for the Youth competition as well as the Open, but this year it will run on the following weekend (Saturday 16th). It’s a great chance for strong youth climbers to get a taste of a finals experience in a way that is not always possible.

Make sure you book your Finals spectator tickets in addition to your participant tickets if you'd like to be there, we'd highly recommend it!

Event entry prices

PLEASE NOTE that tickets must be booked in advance as it is likely that that the event will sell out.

All participant entry prices include an awesome comp t-shirt (Spectator tickets don't include a t-shirt.)

Any entrants who have not been to Boulder Brighton before will also need to register, which you can do in advance by following this link.

Youth comp

Youth climbers can join one of our morning sessions and compete in their own leaderboards. This year Youth climbers will be eligible for Open Finals if their score is high enough. We will also be holding a separate Youth Finals for the top scoring competitors born in 2010 or later, on the following Saturday (16th May). We encourage any aspiring young climbers to book a slot and give the comp a go. Please note that most routes will be set for adults primarily, with routes not set specifically for juniors, so Youth climbers are not expected to be able to complete the full set of problems!

Minimum age is 7, but very young or small children may struggle to get the most out of it. Youth climbers should already be comfortable climbing some of the Font 4s or 5s in the centre.

As with our regular centre rules, any Under 16 competitors must be actively supervised by a registered adult boulderer , unless they have completed our Youth Boulderers' Award and been signed off as able to use the centre unsupervised. Youth Squads from other centres who would like to enter should email tom@boulderbrighton.com to organise.

Masters and Gender Inclusive categories

We will be awarding separate prizes for the highest scoring competitors in the Masters and Gender Inclusive categories. Our Masters category is applicable to anyone born in 1985 or earlier (i.e. climbers who were aged 40 or over by the start of 2026). Gender Inclusive scores will be calculated from those selecting the Non-Binary & Other gender category when submitting their scores. Any competitors who get top scores in multiple categories will be limited to one prize each so that we can spread the prizes around to more people.

Comp Rules

For our full comp rules, please see our BB Competition Rules doc - these will also be displayed around the centre on the day.

Food and drink

As well as our usual snacks and drinks in the BB café, we’ll also have delicious food available and will be running a licenced bar (strictly for after climbing) at key times over the weekend.

Do I need to prebook tickets?

Over the weekend, access to the centre will be by ticketed entry only. Existing monthly members can get half price tickets (which still include a free event t-shirt). We expect the event to sell out so would highly recommend booking tickets in advance to avoid disappointment on the day.

FAQs

Should I enter the Comp or just try the festival boulders?

Not everyone likes the idea of being competitive, but if you fancy giving the comp boulders a go then we’d encourage you to get a scoresheet and give it a crack! If you can climb up to about 6A then you can probably do half of the competition circuit. Otherwise, just relax and have a go at whatever looks fun without having to worry about scoresheets. There’s no need to decide now, just make sure you get yourself a ticket and then you can make your mind up on the day.

Does it matter if I enter the comp on Friday or Saturday or Sunday?

If you want to enter the comp, any of the ticketed sessions are fine to do this. The Open Finals (should you qualify for this) will be on Sunday evening, but you are free to do the qualifying round on any of the qualifying days as you prefer.

I've never bouldered before, is this event for me?

Over the weekend there will be fewer really easy climbs up than we have usually, to make space for our competition and festival boulder circuits, so it's probably not ideally suited for a first time climber. We'd recommend starting with a First Time Climb session on another day instead. If you've been at least a couple of times before though, there should be plenty of fun to be had.

Can I buy a ticket for more than one day?

You can only enter a score for one of the Comps once (on your first session), but if you really want to buy a ticket for both days then there's nothing stopping you doing this. Each ticket is valid for one session on one day only.

Do I have to stop climbing when my session is over?

Yes please, to keep it fair for all participants over the weekend, please leave the climbing areas once your booked session comes to an end. We will keep lots of the climbs up for the following week so there should be plenty of opportunity to come back for more then.